Delayed-action control device



April 19, 1949. H. 1.. PORCH DELAYED-ACTION CONTROL DEVICE 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed July 17, 1941 April 19, 1949. H. L. PORCHDELAYED-ACTION CONTROL DEVICE 5 SheetsSheet 2 Original Filed July 17,1941 y W 6 l 0 W 7 m 4 W W w April 19, 1949. H. 1.. PORCH 2,467,989

DELAYED-ACTION CONTROL DEVICE Original Filed July 1'7, 1941 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Arron [x Patented Apr. 19, 1949 DELAYED-ACTION CONTROLDEVICE Howard L. Porch, Riverside, Calif., assignor to Food Machineryand Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of DelawareOriginal application July 17, 1941, Serial No. 403,079. Divided and thisapplication August 13, 1943, Serial No. 498,531

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to control devices, and particularly to suchdevices as secure a desired effect after the lapse of a given period oftime following the actuation of the device.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved device of thischaracter capable of sustaining hard use over long periods of timewithout requiring attention thereto, and without failure.

Remote control is often effected by the turning on or oil? of a switchin an electric circuit. Where a fluctuating value is depended upon foractuating this control and the switch is directly responsive thereto anexcessive burden is placed upon the switch, as the life of such switchesis relatively limited.

It is an object of this invention to provide a delayed-action controldevice functioning through an electric switch in which intermittentactuation by the controlling value short of a sustained actuation for apre-determined length of time, is not transmitted to said switch.

This application is a division of my co-pending application for U. S.Letters Patent. Serial No. 403,079, filed July 19, 1941, for Coatingspray control, now Patent No. 2,362,926. The present invention has wideutility, but for illustrative purposes it is disclosed herein as whenemployed in said coating spray control.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as furtherobjects and advantages, will be made manifest in the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a, diagrammatic cross sectional view of a fruit coatingmachine at present in current commercial use with a preferred form ofthe device of my invention embodied therewith, this view showing anorange just leaving said machine and another orange just entering saidmachine, the entering orange being positioned to start a spray ofcoating material in the machine.

Fig. 2 is a. fragmentary view illustrating a portion of Fig. 1 in whichthe device of my invention is embodied with the parts thereof disposedas when no fruit is entering said machine.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the control mechanism of myinvention showing it positioned as when stopping the spray of coatingmate-rial in said machine.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken onthe line 5-5 of Fig. 4, this view showing the clutch of said controlmechanism engaged as when no fruit is entering the machine.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the clutch of said controlmechanism disengaged as by fruit entering the machine.

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig.5 and showing the switch opened and motor and spray shut ofi.

Fig. 8 is a similar vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 8-8of Fig. 6, showing the switch allowed to close, motor and spray turnedon.

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram of the electric circuit of the invention.

Referring specifically to the drawings, I have shown therein a spraywaxer l0 including a rectangular housing H, having a floor l2,supporting legs 13, front and rear walls I4 and I5, side walls It and atop wall ll. Provided in the front and rear walls l4 and I5 are fruitinlet and discharge openings 20 and 2|, there being a delivery board 22mounted along the lower edge of the opening 20 and inclined inwardly forreceiving fruit delivered to the machine I0, while a discharge board 23,inclined outwardly, is provided in the discharge opening 2| of themachine.

Mounted in a manner well known in the art, in the interior of thehousing II, is a roller conveyor 25, the upper flight 26 of which isdisposed along an upwardly inclined path so that when this conveyortravels in the direction of the arrow 21 it receives fruit from thedelivery board 22, conveys this along a path extending through themachine I0 and discharges this fruit onto the discharge drop board 23over which the fruit gravitates from the machine. Provided in the endwall I4 is a motor housing 28 which contains a motor 29 for driving theconveyor 25.

Mounted on the top wall I! is a power spray unit 30 having nozzles 3 I,this unit expelling from these nozzles streams 32 of ,fine atomizedparticles of a solution of coating material so that these particlestravel directly from the nozzles 3| into contact with fruit travellingon the conveyor upper flight 26 within the zone 33 (see Fig. 1).

One of the walls i6 is provided with an air exhaust opening 40 whichconnects with a suction space 4| disposed just below the upper conveyorflight 26, the bottom of which is covered by a drip pan 42 and asemi-cylindrical wall 43 which connect together, as shown in Fig. 1, andextend entirely across the space between the side walls 18. A suitableair blower (not shown) is disposed outside the housing II and connectedwith the opening 40 to evacuate air from the chamber to 3 the suctionspace 4!, thus drawing air downwardly between the rollers of the upperconveyor flight 26 while the machine is operated so as to prevent anaccumulation of vapors of the solvent used in connection with thecoating material applied by the machine I ll.

The delivery board 22 has a depressible middle plate 50 provided with afinger the latter resting against the upper end of a rod 52 which slidesin a collar 53 mounted on the wall Id. The lower end of rod 52 ispivotally connected to an arm 55 of a clutch lever 56 of a controlmechanism 51 which is mounted on the floor l2 in the motor housing 28.Attached to the rod 52 and the wall M is a spring 58 which holds thisrod and the depressible plate 58 in upward position, as shown in Fig. 2,excepting when one or more pieces of fruit F may be rolling across thisplate. When the latter occurs, as shown in Fig. 1, the weight of, thisfruit causes the plate 56 and rod 52 to be depressed with results to bedescribed hereinafter.

The control mechanism 51 includes a rectangular shell 60 to the bottomof which is secured by bolts 6! a frame casting 62 having walls 63, i

64, 65, 66 and 6'! extending upwardly therefrom. Extending throughsuitable holes in the walls 65 and 66 and pinned in place is a clutchyoke shaft on which the bifurcated lower end of the clutch yoke 55 ispivotally mounted. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, this clutch yoke hasscrews with heads 12 which are located in closel spaced relation withthe body of the yoke 56.

Mounted on the wall 5? is a small motor 13 with a gear box M, the lattergearing the motor 13 to a shaft 15, this latter being received axiallyin an Opening in one end of a clutch shaft l6 and rigidly securedthereto by a set screw ll, said shaft having at its other end a portionis of reduced diameter which extends into and journals in a hole 19 inthe wall 83. Freely rotatable on the shaft portion i8 is a cone clutchbell 38, this bell having pins 8| and 82 extending radially therefrom.Connected at its opposite end to the pin BI and to the wall 65 is acontractile spring 83. Adjustably mounted in a slot 84 formed in thewall 63 is a stop pin 85, the purpose of this pin being to limit theangular position of rest of the clutch bell 80 when the spring 83rotates this bell so as to bring the pin 8| into contact with the pin85.

Secured on the wall 64 is a Micro-switch 88 having a yieldable arm 89,the depression of which brings this into engagement with a switch pin 90which opens switch 88.

As shown in Figs. 3, 4 and '7, the inner end of the switch arm 89extends into the rotational path of the clutch pin 82.

Splined on the shaft 16 is a clutch cone 9i which unites with clutchbell 88 to form a clutch 92. The clutch cone 9| has an annular flange 93which extends between the clutch yoke 56 and the bolt heads 12.

The electric circuit of the machine It! is shown in Fig. 9 where it isseen that coating material solution is fed to the nozzles 3| through apipe 95, this pipe having a valve 96 controlled by a solenoid 91.Electricity is supplied from power lines L-I and L2 through conductors98 and 99 to the timing motor 13 and the solenoid 91. The switch 88 islocated between the main line L-l and the conductor 98 so that when thisswitch is closed by the arm 89 being released from pressure from the pin82, current is supplied to the timing motor 13 causing this to run, andto the solenoid 9i causing this to open the valve 96 and permit coatingmaterial solution to be supplied through the pipe 95 to the nozzles 3i,thus causing sprays of atomized particles of coating material solution32 to be produced and directed against pieces of fruit F travelling onthe upper conveyor flight 26 through the zone Likewise, when the switcharm 89 is depressed, as when this is engaged by the clutch pin 82 so asto open the switch 88, this immediately shuts oif the valve 96 and thetiming motor 73.

Operation The problem involved is to so control the production ofatomized particles of coating material solution 32 that all of the fruitF passing through the machine It] will be properly covered with coatingmaterial, yet not permit an accumulation of this coating material on therolls of the conveyor 25 during a break in the supply of fruit to theconveyor, so that when fruit is again supplied to this conveyor excessquantities of coating material are picked up by the fruit from theconveyor rolls, thus doing a bad job of coating the fruit and probablydamaging the fruit.

In the normal operation of the machine 22' the fruit F is fed in a moreor less continuous supply across the drop board 22 and is carried in acontinuous flow along the pathway lying just above the upper conveyorflight 26 and thence out of the machine over the drop board 23. Flowingalong this path the fruit F passes through the coating zone 33 in whichthe fruit is subjected to the cones of atomized particles of coatingsolution 32 produced by the nozzles 3|.

When changing from one lot of fruit to another and in certain minoremergencies in the packing of the fruit, which are not of infrequentoccurrence, there is a cessation of the supplying of fruit F over thedelivery board 22 to the conveyor 25. As soon as the fruit is beingdelivered in a relatively constant flow over the delivery board 22pieces of fruit F are rolling over and depressing the plate Ell, asshown in Fig. 1. This movement is transmitted to the arm 55 and swingsthe clutch yoke 56, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby compressing the spring Mand withdrawing the clutch cone 9| from the clutch bell The clutch bellsi thereby freed to be rotated by the spring 63 about its shaft l8 intothe position in which it is shown in Fig. 8 where the pin 8! has beenbrought to rest against the stop pin 85.

When the clutch bell 80 is so positioned, the pin 82 is out of contactwith the spring switch arm 89 which causes the switch 88 to remainclosed. As already pointed out, while this condition exists the motor 13continues to rotate the shaft 15 and the clutch shaft 16 and the clutchcone 9! splined thereon, and the valve continues to remain open causingthe nozzles 3i to spray coating material onto the fruit.

Whenever there is any cessation of the supply of fruit F to the conveyor25, so that the depressible plate 50 is allowed to rise under theinfluence of the spring 58, as shown in Fig. 2, the clutch yoke 56 isbrought into vertical position under the influence of springs 58 and 94,thus frictionally inserting the clutch cone 9i into the clutch bell 80.As the shaft 76 is being continuously rotated by the motor l3 (althoughthis rotation is at a very slow rate of speed owing to the low gearratio in the gear box 14) the clutch cone 9| is also being rotated andthis rotation is transmitted to the clutch bell 8B which if the plate5!} remains in upper position, as shown in Fig. 2, for a predeterminedinterval, results in the pin :32 being shifted from the position inwhich it is shown in Fig. 8 to the position in which it is shown in Fig.'2 where it depresses the switch arm 89 and opens the switch 88.

As previously pointed out, opening this switch deenergizes the motor 73and the solenoid 3? and shuts off the valve 96 thereby causing thedelivery of atomized coating material to the zone 33 to ceaseimmediately.

The rest position of the pin 8! is so determined by the location of theadjustable stop pin 85 in the slot 84 that the predetermined interval oftime intervening between the cessation of the supply of fruit to theconveyor and the de-energizing of the timing motor 13 and the solenoidill is such that the last of the fruit supplied over the delivery board22 to the conveyor 25 is carried by the upper flight Of this conveyor asuincient distance into the zone 33 during this interval so that thisfruit has received an adequate deposit of coating material from thenozzles 3| before the latter are shut off by the de-energizing of thesolenoid 9?.

When the supply of fruit F to the upper flight of the conveyor 25 isresumed, the first piece of fruit to cross the delivery board 22depresses the plate 50 of this delivery board thereby immedi--- atelyturning on the supply of coating material solution to the nozzles 3| andcausin a resumption of the application through these nozzles of atomizedparticles of coating material to any fruit travelling in the zone 33 onthe upper conveyor flight 25. Thus the initial fruit supplied to themachine it) on the resumption of operations, after a cessation of saidsupply, is assured of receiving an adequate deposit of coating materialdirectly from the nozzles 3|.

The intermittent character of the stream of fruit F crossing thedelivery board 22 causes the plate 50 to be shifted between thepositions in which it is shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 a relatively largenumber of times. Each of these movements of the plate 5!) is transmittedto the clutch 92 and either opens or closes this clutch. That is, eachsuch movement of the plate 56 shifts the lever 55 from one to the otherof the positions of this shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

In actual commercial practice these actuations of the plate 50 by thefruit F are as frequent as 150 per minute. In the mechanism of myinvention each of these actuations merely operates the clutch 82. Onlywhen a predetermined period has elapsed without the plate 5!] beingdepressed, is the clutch 92 allowed to remain engaged long enough forthe pin 8| to be rotated into engagement with the switch arm 89 so as toopen the switch 88.

It is thus seen that the device of my invention effects control throughan electric circuit by op eration of a switch therein in response to anin-- termittently occurring value (that is, no fruit F on the plate 5E!)without this switch being required to function in response to theoccurrence of said value until and unless that value continues to existfor a predetermined period of time.

I have accomplished this protection of the switch for the reason that noswitches of this type are available which will stand operation asfrequently as would be necessary if the device were designed so that theswitch is closed or opened each time the plate 5%] moves between thepositions in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The clutch 92, however,which is responsive to each of these movements of the plate 50, iscapable of enduring this rapid actuation over long operating periodswithout failure.

While I have shown and described a single embodiment of my invention, itis to be understood that various changes and modifications might be madein this without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination: an electric motor; an electric circuit including saidmotor; a switch in said circuit; lost motion means adapted to shut ofisaid switch upon said means being shifted a predetermined extent from astarting position; a clutch directly connecting said motor to said lostmotion means for positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; meansautomatically returning said lost motion means to starting position whensaid clutch is released; and means independent of said motor circuit forthrowing said clutch in and out.

2. In combination: an electric motor; an electric circuit including saidmotor; a switch in said circuit; lost motion means adapted to shut offsaid switch upon said means being shifted a predetermined extent from astarting position; a clutch directly connecting said motor to said lostmotion means for positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; meansautomatically returning said lost motion means to starting position whensaid clutch is released; means independent of said motor circuit foropening said clutch in response to a given control value; and means forautomatically closing said clutch when said opening means is released.

3. In combination: an electric control circuit including a switch; lostmotion means adapted to actuate said switch upon said means beingshifted a predetermined extent from a starting position; power means; aclutch directly connecting said power means to said lost motion meansfor positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; means automaticallyreturning said lost motion means to said starting position when saidclutch is released; and means independent of said control circuit forthrowing said clutch in and out.

4. In combination: an electric control circuit including a switch; lostmotion means adapted to actuate said switch upon said means beingshifted a predetermined extent from a starting position; power means; aclutch directly connecting said power means to said lost motion meansfor positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; means automaticallyreturning said lost motion means to said starting position when saidclutch is opened to disconnect said power means from said lost motionmeans; means independent of said control circuit for opening saidclutch; and means for automatically closing said clutch when saidopening means is released.

5. In combination: an electric switch which is normally closed; a clutchincluding a driven element and a driving element; an electric motor, thecircuit of which includes said switch; means connecting said motor tosaid driving element to rotate the latter at a substantially uniformrate; means responsive to a given degree of rotation of said drivenelement to open said switch; means constantly acting on said drivenelement for returning said driven element and said switch opening meansto their starting position whenever said clutch is opened; and meansindependent of said switch for controlling the closing and opening ofsaid clutch.

6. In combination: an electric motor; an electric circuit including saidmotor; a normally closed switch in said circuit; lost motion meansadapted to shut ofi said switch upon said means being shifted apredetermined extent from a starting position; a clutch directlyconnecting said motor to said lost motion means for positively shiftingthe latter as aforesaid; means automatically returning said lost motionmeans to starting position whenever said clutch is disengaged; and meansindependent of said motor and said motor circuit for engaging anddisengaging said clutch.

7. In combination: an electric switch; a clutch including a drivenelement and a driving element, said driven element being adapted toactuate said switch When rotated by said driving element to a givenposition; means yieldably rotating said driven element a given distanceaway from said position to a starting position whenever said clutch isdisengaged; means for rotating said driving element at a substantiallyuniform rate; and means for engaging and disengaging said clutchindependently of said switch and said rotating means.

HOWARD L. PORCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Korte et al Nov. 30, 1943

